SpaceX launched its Falcon Heavy rocket from Kennedy Space Center on Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2018 and landed two of the side boosters at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

COLORADO SPRINGS – The Space Coast can expect a "couple more" of the massively popular Falcon Heavy launches from Kennedy Space Center this year, SpaceX's president and chief operating officer said during a dinner event Thursday night.

"We have a big year in front of us," Gwynne Shotwell said during a closing dinner at the 34th Space Symposium. "We've got a couple more heavys to fly, which will be very exciting."

At 3:45 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 6, SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket blasted off for the first time from pad ...more

At 3:45 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 6, SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket blasted off for the first time from pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center.

SpaceX

"For satellites this time – not cars," Shotwell said jokingly.

The first of those Falcon Heavy launches from pad 39A is expected this summer, when the 27-engine, three-core rocket will take an Air Force mission to orbit with NASA science spacecraft riding as secondary payloads. And the second mission will take Saudi Arabia's Arabsat-6A communications satellite, which was built in Colorado, to orbit sometime in late 2018.

SpaceX President and Chief Operating Officer Gwynne Shotwell speaks during the 34th Space Symposium in Colorado Springs on Thursday, April 19, 2018.

Emre Kelly / FLORIDA TODAY

SpaceX has not commented on booster recovery details surrounding those missions and whether or not Cape Canaveral and / or drone ship landings will be involved. The company could also opt to expend at least one of the boosters, too.

On SpaceX's workhorse vehicle, Shotwell said the company has "a ton of Falcon 9s to fly" and a "bunch more reflights to do," referring to launching previously flown versions of the booster.

Early next month, SpaceX is also planning to debut the "Block V" version of its Falcon 9 rocket, which is designed for greater reusability. The mission will take Bangladesh’s first geostationary satellite, labeled Bangabandhu-1, to orbit from KSC’s pad 39A.

Contact Emre Kelly at aekelly@floridatoday.com or 321-242-3715. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook at @EmreKelly.

Share This Gallery

SpaceX launched its Falcon Heavy rocket from Kennedy Space Center on Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2018 and landed two of the side boosters at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

Have you tried 321 LAUNCH?

Thanks to cutting-edge augmented reality technology, or the overlaying of digital objects onto the real world made possible by mobile cameras, spaceflight now fits in your pocket. Explore launch pads, rockets and live launches in detail right on your smartphone.

Find the free 321 LAUNCH app in Apple's App Store or in Google Play for Android devices.